Can anyone tell me how to go about searching for the burial place of my father's aunt who was a Franciscan Sister? She was born in Maine, USA, and died there in the 1930s. In 1930, she was a nurse in the hospital in her hometown of Eagle Lake, ME, located in the northern part of the state. I can find no death records but, before my father passed, he mentioned that he thought she was buried somewhere in Canada. He remembered something about her brother having to take her to her Mother House, in Canada, for burial. Since I have no idea as to the location of the Mother House, how would I go about locating her burial place?

According to Wikipedia the motherhouse in Canada is located in Toronto. Their website is called the Sisters of St Joseph of Toronto, contact them and ask about burials.

Has anyone any information on where recorded information from Justices of the Peace can be found. Has anyone any recorded information on just who Justice of the Peace where? Where can I find information at the turn of the century (1900) on who these Justice of the Peace were?

[From Cathy] Unfortunately, the only registry of JP appointments that exists that I know of is the one for New Brunswick (It is searchable online. Scroll down to "Misc. Records" http://globalgenealogy.com/links/canada-nb.htm)

JP's tended to do marriages. Some resources to find mention of JP's might include: Thomas B. Wilson has published an index and partial abstraction of surviving Ontario Marriage Bonds for the years 1803 - 1834. There are some bonds available beyond 1834. The original bonds are held by the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa and are available on microfilm through Inter-Library Loan and through local Family History Centres of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Wilson’s Ontario Marriage Bonds book is now available with many other invaluable vital records references on CD #204 from Family Tree Maker's Family Archives Series, produced by Broderbund. Unfortunately marriage licences have been lost to us over time as have the records of most Justices of the Peace.

Occasionally the records of a local J.P. will turn up in a private manuscript collection, however, there are no comprehensive collections of J.P. records available. You could also ask Osgoode Hall - they are the experts on Legal History in Ontario. http://www.osgoodesociety.ca

Can one find a birth registration by first name and birthdate and not surname? Cynthia Foster born Feb 1 1880 and raised by paternal grandparents (Charles Foster & Sarah Jane Carey) in Millgrove Ontario. We cannot find her under Foster in Ontario Birth Registration Index at Ontario Archives. She may have been registered under the unknown surname of her mother.

Yes. You can locate a birth registration any way you like. The index is by surname but the registrations themselves were put on microfilm by area and date. So just locate the microfilm that covers the area and year you're interested in and start scrolling. (If you're using Ancestry to locate this birth registration you can enter any search parameter). Keep in mind that while registration began in 1869 it wasn't enforced until the 1880's and many births went unregistered.

My maternal grandfather came to Toronto in 1927 by boat from either Hamburg, Germany or Marseilles, France. Where would he have landed? How would he get to Toronto?

From Anonymous -- Assuming that he entered Canada through a Canadian port, it would have been Halifax during the winter months, or Quebec City during the rest of the year. Passengers rarely stayed on the boat beyond Quebec City - it was far faster to go the rest of the way by train. If you can find the passenger list, the railway would likely be identified, as tickets were to the final destination. If he was not from the UK, his port of entry might be shown on his citizenship record, if it still survives. (Some still do, while for others only an index card remains. You can request a copy of the file through Access to Information from Citizenship and Immigration). As well, if he ever entered the US through the Niagara Region at any point up until the late 1940s, there may be clues on the US Border Crossing records, which you can access through Ancestry.ca.

How difficult, and what resources would I view, to prove an adoption in 1908?

[From Cathy] Firstly, are you sure it was an adoption? Before the Adoption Act of 1921, adoption was rare - guardianships were more common. If you don't know which it could be, I would suggest that you look up "Guardianships" in the Ontario Archives to start with. Beginning with the Guardianship Act (1827) and until the Adoption Act (1921), guardianships (child custody without the right of inheritance) were granted through the local Surrogate Court. While not listed in most Surrogate Court indexes, guardianship matters are recorded in Surrogate Court registers, and later, for some counties, in separate Surrogate Court guardianship books.

To identify series that contain these records, search the Archives Descriptive Database (Archival Descriptions search option) using the keyword guardianship* (including the asterisk), the name of the county or district, and the archival reference code RG 22* (including the asterisk). Alternatively, consult Inventory 22 Courts and related officers records, vol. 1, for instructions on how to identify and access these records.

If on the other hand you are sure it was an adoption, then it does make it harder (but not impossible) to find. The Archives holds no adoption files, only guardianship records. Adoptions occurring before April 8, 1921 were made through an Act of the Ontario Legislature and are extremely rare. For instructions on finding an Act, refer to Research Guide 207: Researching Ontario Bills and Statutes